Petroc Taylor
Research expert covering global developments in the use of data
Get in touch with us nowNorthern Virginia dominates the market
Several regions across the U.S. have established themselves as key data center hubs, with Silicon Valley, Chicago and the Dallas/Ft. Worth area each offering total data center capacity of over 300 megawatts as of the second half of 2022. However, none come close to Northern Virginia, which dominates the U.S. data center market. The Northern Virginia region boasted inventory of over 2,000 megawatts as of the second half of 2022, while data center vacancy sat at only one percent, the lowest of any U.S. market. Despite this, the region faces difficulties with the pressure placed on local infrastructure. This could cause significant delays to the 965 megawatts currently under construction in the region.Efficiency and sustainability pressures loom
Global supply issues have seen the average monthly rental rate at U.S. data centers increase sharply for the first time in several years. The average price in 2022 sat at around 138 U.S. dollars per kilowatt, up from approximately 120 U.S. dollars. This has led many organizations to streamline their data strategy, with almost half of respondents to a 2022 survey naming data center consolidation as a key cost saving measure. Discussions around sustainability have also been at the forefront, though it’s noteworthy that only half of U.S. data center operators expect mandatory reporting of sustainability metrics to be introduced over the next five years, compared to 73 percent of European operators, and 67 percent of those in China.U.S. operators among top REITs
Major U.S. colocation data center operators such as Equinix and Digital Realty have found financial success by renting space at hyperscale facilities across the world. This has seen them consistently rank among the largest Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), with Equinix’s market cap sitting at over 51 billion U.S. dollars in September 2022. Dell EMC is a leading manufacturer in the data center equipment market, leading the server and storage sectors. Meanwhile, Cisco is the dominant manufacturer of networking equipment.
